For years, a self-publicized imbecility (and perhaps an identification with the vain, kitchy "Valley Girl" subculture of the San Fernando Valley) has prevented the Dickies from achieving the recognition they deserve. The Dickies were, in a way, the Monkees of the early Californian punk scene, distinguished by their passion for "junk movies", the trashy films which they doubtlessly fed on as adolescents. Nearly all of their songs borrow their titles from some line or plot of a film. And while they are certainly among those who have innovated the least in the world of punk rock, they are also among those who have entertained the most, and are among the few who still entertain today.

The band consisted of: the singer, Leonard Graves Phillips, the guitarist Stan Lee, the bassist Billy Club, keyboardist Chuck Wagon, and the drummer Karlos Kaballero. Their first works of 1978/79 were spoiled by being too fast and too short. On their first album The Incredible Shrinking (A&M, 1979), only the thrash-boogie of Give it Back and the silly lyrics similar to that of the Ramones in You Drive Me Ape succeed in establishing an identity. On the other hand, the second album, Dawn (A&M, 1979)--thanks to music-hall arrangements and refrains (precise rhythm, bass drumrolls, old-style guitar solos, organ)--succeeds in placing in full prominence the funny contrivances of Stan Lee (guitar), Chuck Wagon (keyboard and wind instruments) and Leonard Phillips (vocals): from Tritia Toyota to Fan Mail, from Manny, Moe and Jack to Attack of the Mole Men, the album is a parade of comic sketches inspired by B-films, which follow in quick succession, without a moment of pause. One could say as much of the 45s from the same period, Iím OK (1978), Got It At the Store (1979) and the legendary Gigantor (1980), all born of the cross between circus music and a horror soundtrack.

The band broke up after Stukas Over Disneyland (PVC, 1983), but like the Weirdos, they reformed in 1988 to take advantage of a rising interest in their catalogue. After recording the theme song for the serial Killer Klowns from Outer Space, the Dickies recorded Second Coming (Enigma, 1989) giving the impression of a more serious powerpop (Cross-Eyed Tammy, Goiní Homo). The EP Roadkill (Triple X) of 1993 signaled the culmination of the new direction, with just the right amount of melody, speed and humor.

made Idjit Savant (Triple X, 1995) a small masterpiece of 60s revival, having little in common with the Dickies of 1977. Dressing up their outdated punk rock with a grandiosity half-way between Queen and the Rocky Horror Picture Show, the Dickies made Welcome to the Diamond Mine the anthem of the new season; with suggestions of the bubblegum of the Monkees in Make It So and surf music in Zeppelina, they qualify to be placed among the greats of the Sixties revival. New commercial outposts were conquered, ranging from hardrock in Iím Stuck in a Condo to the disco-punk of Blondie in Toxic Avenger. And if Roadkill, for a moment, brings back the memory of the bombshells of better times, the almost grotesque vocal and instrumental arrangements of Oh Boy and House of Raoul serve as a reminder of how many years have indeed passed. This cross between Green Day and Rush is no longer the Dickies of the past, but is terribly keeping in step with the times.

As much as they shine, their return doesnít change the fact that, after the death of Wagon (1981), the Dickies have never been the same again.